The invention relates to a fitted domestic appliance, in particular a domestic dishwasher, having an operation indicator that has one or more illumination elements for emitting light beams by means of which a gap formed between the domestic appliance and a surface adjacent to the domestic appliance can be illuminated.
Various domestic appliances are known whose entire front surface is furnished with a front panel that can be matched to surrounding furniture fronts. Domestic appliances of said type include, for instance, ovens, refrigerating devices, and dishwashers. The problem arises with a fully integratable domestic appliance that an optical operation indicator is obscured by the front panel when a front door of the fully integratable domestic appliance is closed so that the operating status of the fully integratable domestic appliance cannot be checked.
Disclosed in DE 100 22 206 C2 is a dishwasher that can be built-in and has a pivoting door having on its upper front surface an optical operation indicator with one or more light sources which, when the appliance door is closed, are obscured by a worktop on top of the dishwasher. Connected there to a vapor-protection element fixed to the underside of the worktop above the appliance door is a light conductor which directs the obscured optical operation indicator's signal light to the front side of the appliance. The disadvantage is that the signal light in the light conductor cannot easily be seen by a user standing in front of the fitted domestic appliance or dishwasher because the light conductor is located in a gap between the underside of the worktop and the edge of the appliance door and is concealed from above by the worktop. The signal light is in particular made more difficult to see when a thick front panel is used because the light conductor will then be additionally concealed from below by the front panel.
To improve the visibility of the signal light of at least one optical operation indicator, DE 102 59 764 A1 proposes embodying the light conductor such that its light route can be adapted to the thickness of the cover element. The light conductor can for that purpose be displaceable relative to the optical operation indicator. The disadvantage thereof is that the light decoupled from the light conductor can differ depending on its position relative to the light source so that the operation indicator's visibility may possibly be worsened.
DE 102 36 211 A1 proposes providing active or passive illumination for an edge or surfaces on the fronts of kitchen-equipment elements. It is intended thereby to enhance the design potential and user-friendliness of individual kitchen-equipment elements as well as for the kitchen equipment overall.
Known from DE 103 03 354 A1 is a lighting system having a series of light-emitting diodes, with said lighting system being embodied as a worktop edge piece, in particular a kitchen worktop edge piece, on whose underside the light-emitting diodes are located. The lighting system can be embodied also as a profiled strip secured in position in the base recess of one or more items of cabinet furniture, in particular lower kitchen cabinets. The purpose is to provide good floor illumination and, in the case of the worktop edge piece, illumination of the cabinet fronts and, additionally, of drawers or other built-in parts. That arrangement is not suitable for controlling an operating-cycle display or for fault signaling.
Known from DE 20 2004 017 690 U1 is a cover plate that is intended for use on items of furniture and whose lighting elements are located in a relatively protected area and emit their light over the front, visible edge of the cover plate. That is achieved using a glass cover plate located on a support. One or more light sources are therein arranged over the entire length on the end face turned away from the observer so that the light penetrates the cover plate and exits it at its front end face.
To be able to tell the current status of a program cycle during the domestic appliance's operation with little effort and without adversely affecting or stopping the domestic appliance, DE 101 44 668 proposes an operating-cycle display in the form of a light strip intended for a washing machine and consisting of a substantial number of lighting elements, with more and more lighting up as the wash program progresses or the rotational speed of the drum increases. Said type of operating-cycle display is not, though, suitable for use in dishwashers, for example, as they do not have a rotating drum. Known furthermore from DE 10 2004 019 329.0, submitted by the applicant, is a controllable operating-cycle display having a number of illumination elements whose individual illumination intensity is controlled as a function of the dishwasher's operation. The operating-cycle display's illumination elements are located in a side surface of the dishwasher or in the edging of a front door of the dishwasher, with its being possible for the light beams produced by the illumination elements to be emitted at least partially indirectly. The illumination elements' being located in the dishwasher's lateral area causes the gaps between the dishwasher and adjacent cabinet components or domestic machines to be illuminated when the illumination elements are lit. The dishwasher's contours will accordingly be at least partially illuminated when the illumination elements are lit. The disadvantage thereof is that if the gaps between the dishwasher and adjacent cabinet component or domestic appliance are very narrow the result for the user will be only limited perceptibility, which can depend on the lighting conditions where the dishwasher is installed and the user's viewing angle relative to the dishwasher.